My new variety of Magnolia grandiflora was discovered and first observed in a bed of Magnolia grandiflora (southern magnolia) seedlings at the Westervelt Tree Company in Selma, Ala. These seedlings were among a group of one gallon seedlings previously obtained from the Powell Nursery, Thomasville, Ga., and planted at Westervelt Tree Co. in 1984. The parent trees and the source of the seed are unknown.
This new variety was initially reproduced in 1986 at the Westervelt Tree Company in Selma, Ala. Subsequently, a considerable number of selected cuttings were rooted and grown to test the stability, uniformity and growth rate of the clonal material. Since 1986, this new plant has been propagated by rooted cuttings of the current season's growth through several generations, and we have been able to thereby determine that the novel and distinctive features of the new cultivar, Magnolia grandiflora "Green Giant", plant have remained true from generation to generation and appear to have been firmly fixed.